


Ask the community...
The whole system is ridiculous if you ask me. Why can't they just make a simple calculator that actually works? I spent three weeks trying to figure out my benefits and even the NYS Department of Labor rep I finally reached gave me different numbers than what showed up in my account.
Wait, I thought you had to wait until after your last paycheck or something? I've been putting off filing because my former employer said they're sending me a final check next week. Am I supposed to file before I get that?
I had issues reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone when I needed to clarify something about my claim timing. If you run into the same problem, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an agent quickly. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really helped when the phone lines were jammed and I kept getting disconnected.
I had the WORST time trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor when I was dealing with a similar situation. Kept calling and either got busy signals or got disconnected after waiting forever. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you through to real agents at NYS Department of Labor. They have a demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Saved me so much frustration and I was able to get my partial claim sorted out properly.
The whole system is so backwards! Why should someone have to lose their job completely to get help when they're struggling with reduced hours? It's like they want people to choose between having some work or getting assistance. At least partial unemployment exists but they don't exactly advertise it well.
wait so if my company has had a lot of layoffs does that mean they pay more in unemployment taxes?? that seems backwards since they're already struggling financially
StarStrider
Just remember you HAVE to report every penny you make or they'll hit you with an overpayment later. I learned that the hard way when I didn't report a small cash job thinking it wouldn't matter. NYS Department of Labor doesn't mess around with unreported income.
0 coins
NebulaNomad
•Yikes, how did they find out about the cash job?
0 coins
StarStrider
•Cross-referencing with tax records from what I understand. They eventually catch everything so just be honest from the start.
0 coins
Yuki Sato
Take the catering job! The worst thing you can do is sit around doing nothing. Even if it reduces your unemployment a little, you're gaining experience and networking. Plus you'll still be collecting something from NYS Department of Labor as long as your earnings aren't too high.
0 coins